“Yes.”
“I’m afraid this is an enemy you can’t defeat with cuteness.”
“Don’t do that.” My voice shook just like the rest of me. “Don’t turn this into a joke. This is serious. A man just d-died.” The dam broke inside me, releasing the tears I’d kept at bay. “I’ve never seen someone die before. I… I….”
Maddox enveloped me in his arms and cradled the back of my head. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, sweetheart. I wish I could take it from your mind.”
“Captain,” Callum said from atop his horse. “The knights are ready to move out.”
Maddox nodded to him before kissing my hair. “I have to leave.”
“N-No.” More tears streamed down my cheeks. There was no use wiping at them. More would just take their place. “Don’t go.”
“Remember what I told you before?” Maddox slid his palm across my wet cheeks. “Whenever I leave, my heart stays with you. Take care of it for me.”
And then, he stepped out of my reach and swung up into the saddle of the white stallion. He didn’t look at me again before he left. He just shouted orders for his men to follow and took off down the path.
My knees wobbled, and I slumped to the grass. The knights who hadn’t been ordered to ride with them had carried Neville inside the main building. I stared at the blood-stained grass where he’d died.
“Come with me, little prince,” Duke said, squatting beside me. He rubbed my shoulder. “I’ll take you home.”
“Little prince?” I rasped. “I’m not the Thorn Prince anymore?”
Duke smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Not today.”
I barely recalled the ride home. Everything blurred together. The cottage then came into view, and people exited through the front, talking and laughing.
Duke dismounted from the horse and helped me down before letting it loose in the field. I tried to walk but lost my footing and gripped one of the fence posts. He then picked me up and carried me into the cottage, using the back entrance.
“Mister Evan?” Miles asked, dropping the ladle back into the pot with a clank.
Lake rushed into the kitchen, his purple eyes wide. “Evan?” His voice sounded different than usual. Unsteady. “Are you hurt?”
“He’s fine,” Duke answered. He was one of the few who knew about Lake. Callum, Quincy, and Baden did as well. “He’s in shock, I believe. He saw a man die today.”
“Where’s Maddox?” Lake asked.
I was passed from one set of arms to another. Trees and peaches then tickled my nose. I burrowed closer to the scent and squeezed my eyes shut.
“On a mission,” Duke answered. “A party of knights from the Third Order were attacked while escorting a merchant caravan. The captain and knights from our unit went to reinforce them.”
“Miles?” Lake said. I wasn’t used to him speaking to people with such conviction in his tone, lacking the wariness. “Evan is in no state to work. Are you capable of handling things on your own for the rest of the day?”
“Yes, of course,” Miles responded. “I only want mister Evan to be all right.”
What they said next, I had no clue. I zoned out. Dissociated.
Maddox had told me to take care of his heart because each time he marched out for a mission, he left it with me. And as he fought alongside his men in that very moment, somewhere I couldn’t reach him, he had mine.
Lake carried me upstairs and put me in bed. He then laid beside me and pressed kisses into my hair. When I started to cry, he snuggled closer and hugged me with his entire body; arms secured around me and legs hooked over mine. He was holding me together when I was so close to breaking into a million pieces.
All we could do was wait. Wait for news about the knights returning. Wait for news about whether some of them evenwouldreturn.
And then, Lake started singing.
The melodic sound of his voice calmed the anxiety twisting in my gut. My cries quietened as I listened. I fell asleep sometime later, soothed by his warmth and voice.
I dreamed of Maddox. Dreamed of when I’d looked into his deep blue eyes for the first time. When I’d seen that first glimmer of a smile on his lips. I prayed he came home to me.
